Jaguars turning a corner?

Jags' offense comes alive in needed victory before bye week.

MICHAEL C. WRIGHT

DENVER - Injuries could've legitimized another setback for the Jaguars headed into their bye week.

Toss in a meat-grinder on the road against a hot Denver squad in the cool climes at Invesco Field at Mile High, and perhaps the Jaguars would finally have to acknowledge that their weakened state really is an issue.

But instead of opening the door for excuses Sunday, the Jaguars closed out the Broncos 24-17 on the strength of two Maurice Drew touchdown runs.

Now with a week off to rest, and three teams (Cleveland, Cincinnati and Detroit) with a combined 1-14 record on the horizon, the Jaguars appear to have fought through the worst of their problems while evening their record at 3-3.

"When you look at what our team has gone through in the first six weeks, I don't think you can dismiss the amount of energy and effort the guys have given," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "When you're patching in interior linemen, defensively when you lose some guys, yet you're in each and every ballgame and end up winning some, I think that's a good sign.

"We know what we are. We like who we are. We'll continue to work on being better at being who we are."

The Jaguars showed improvement against Denver on both sides of the ball.

They held the Broncos' high-powered offense - which averaged 415 yards headed into Sunday - to 323. And the Jaguars' offense broke through for 416 yards, 276 from the arm of quarterback David Garrard, who completed passes to eight receivers and posting a 107.0 passer rating. Matt Jones led the team with 69 yards on seven catches, and four other players caught at least three passes.

Drew paced the rushing attack with 125 yards on 22 attempts.

"We've been trying to be an aggressive offense," Drew said. "We have playmakers at tight end and wide receiver, and we did a good job of getting those guys the ball today."

Garrard completed the Jaguars' scoring on a 30-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to Marcedes Lewis, who spun through the tackle attempts of Denver safeties Marquand Manuel and Marlon McCree, to give the Jaguars a 24-10 lead after Josh Scobee's extra point.

The Broncos closed the gap to 24-17 after an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler to Daniel Graham, but they would get no closer. After Denver went three-and-out on its final drive, the Jaguars took possession and ran the final five minutes and 46 seconds off the clock with a drive that lasted 12 plays.

"We've never flinched," said running back Fred Taylor, who left the game after suffering a head injury in the first quarter but returned in the second half. "Jack [Del Rio] always says to never flinch."

The game didn't start out so promising. Cutler completed his first eight passes, and Brandon Stokley pulled in an 11-yard touchdown catch - the fifth time in six outings that the Jaguars allowed opening-drive points.

Jacksonville countered by converting two of Denver's three turnovers in the first half into points to lead 10-7 at intermission. Drew extended the lead to 17-7 just three plays into the Jaguars' opening drive of the second half when he darted between a pair of defenders on the way to a 46-yard TD.

The Jaguars finished the game with a 7:10 advantage over Denver in time of possession.

"Jack said it was a turning-point, season-type of game," Garrard said. "This game looked exactly like Jaguars football."

The Jaguars converted 60 percent on third downs in the first half, taking their first lead on Drew's 1-yard run with 2:58 remaining in the second quarter.

Cornerback Drayton Florence set up the TD by stripping receiver Brandon Marshall of the ball and scooping up the ball for an 18-yard return, to give the Jaguars possession at the 25.

Jacksonville's first score - a 48-yard Scobee field goal - occurred after Taylor was nailed under the chin by Denver linebacker Nate Webster after catching a screen pass and coughed up the Jaguars' first turnover in 10 quarters.

Rashean Mathis stole the ball back on the next play, recovering a fumble caused by Reggie Hayward, who stripped Cutler as he scrambled out of the pocket.

"When you turn the ball over three or four times a game, it's hard to score," Cutler said.

With a bye this week to rest, the Jaguars appear to be on track for the return of safety Reggie Nelson and linemen Brad Meester and Chris Naeole, and the team seems to have a favorable schedule the following three weeks.

"What was making excuses gonna do for us? I think, eventually, once we see that light where we can finally pick our head up and be on the positive side of our record, you create a little momentum," Taylor said. "With momentum comes confidence. Now, as opposed to hesitating because you're afraid to lose, you're attacking because you want to make the play to win. That's where we're looking forward to getting to."